Harrison keane



(No Model.) I 2 Sheets8heet l.

H. KEANE 55 M. GUIDBR. TROUSERS STRETCHER.

No. 555,544. P5555555 Au 11, 1896.

INVENTORS:

WITNESSES. 96

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. KEANE & M. GUIDER. TROUSERS STRETGHER.

No. 565,544. Patented Aug. 11, 1896;

WITNESSES. IN VENTOHS $6 MW W 6% $44M ATTORNEY-S UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRISON KEANE, OF DOUGLAS, AND MICHAEL GUIDER, OF CORK, IRELAND.

TROUSERS-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,544, dated August 11, 1896.

Ap licati fil d October 23, 1895. Serial No. 566,603. (No modeh) Patented in England November 16, 1895,No. 8,657.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, HARRISON KEANE, tailor, of The -Hill House, Douglas, in the county of Cork, and MICHAEL GUIDER, accountant, of 27 Grand Parade, Cork, Ireland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trousers-Stretchers,' (which has been patented in Great Britain, No. 8,657, November 16, 1895,) of which the following is a full,c1ear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an improvement in so-called trees or stretchers for distendin g breeches (of buckskin, corduroy, and other material, such as used for hunting, riding, and sporting purposes) when not in wear or during the operation of cleaning, pipe-claying, and drying, so as to prevent shrinkage and maintain them in proper shape.

Heretofore the trees generally used for this purpose have been actuated by mechanical devices, which require special fitting or adjustment to adapt the trees to the size and shape of the breeches. Such mechanicallyactuated trees have necessarily been bulky when packed for transport.

The object of this invention is to provide a means of holding breeches distended which is not only extremely light and portable, but is self-adapting to the size and shape of the breeches, so as to more efficiently maintain them in shape.

The invention is an improvement in that class of stretchers which are capable of being pneumatically inflated, the stretchers being made of vulcanized sheet caoutchouc, such as used for footballs, (or equivalent air-tight material,) so seamed and shaped that when the stretchers are inflated within the breeches they will accurately conform to the shape of the breeches and hold the same distended; and the improvement resides in the provision of means, as hereinafter described and claimed, for preventing the undue distension of the inflated stretchers at the waist-opening of the breeches where the expansion of the stretchers is not resisted by the breeches.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the application of the invention, and Fig. 2 is a like view showing the inflatable stretchers and its accessories without the breeches.

In Fig. 1, A indicates the stretchers, and B the breeches.

The stretchers are formed of an air-tight bag shaped like a pair of breeches, except that it is closed at the waist and at the ends of the legs, an air-inlet valve 0 being provided for blowing up by the mouth or for the attachment of an infiater or pump, as used for pneumatic tires.

D is a cross brace or disk of leather or other material, with button-hole tabs cl for attachment to the brace-buttons of the breeches, the cross brace or disk and tabs serving to insure proper stretching of the body portion of the breeches in the lengthwise direction, to retain the air-bag within the breeches and to prevent undue distension of the air-bag, besides serving as a means of suspension from an overhead support by a loop and eye E.

The stretchers, when deflated, are inserted within the breeches. The cross-brace D is attached by its tabs cl to the brace-buttons of the breeches, and the air-bag is then blown out, as represented in the drawings.

We claim 1. Stretchers for distending riding and other breeches, comprising a collapsible breechesshaped air-tight bag provided with an airinlet valve and adapted to be pneumatically inflated, and a brace provided with fastening devices adapted for attachment to the waistband of the breeches to prevent undue distension of the waist portion of the breeches, said brace when connected to the waist portion of the breeches also engaging the upper end of the bag to retain the inflated bag in position and insuring proper stretching of the body portion of the breeches in the lengthwise direction, substantially as described.

2. Stretchers for distending riding and other breeches, comprising a collapsible breechesshaped air-tight bag provided with an airinlet valve and adapted to be pneumatically inflated, and a brace composed of a disk or plate adapted for engagement with the inflated bag, and button hole-tabs secured to said disk and adapted for attachment to the brace-buttons of the breeches, substantially as described.

HARRISON KEANE. MICHAEL GUIDER.

Witnesses:

T. W. KENNARD, O. G. CLARK. 

